News

Open Havelock is open. 

Over 150 local residents and stakeholders, the leader of Ealing Council and the Deputy Mayor of London, Jules Pipe, came together to celebrate the launch of Open Havelock, to take stock of how far the project has come and to look forward to its growth and consolidation. 

Open House walking tour.

Expression of interest launched to allocate spaces to Open Havelock’s future users and operators. Apply for a space here. From the feasibility stages of the Open Havelock project, we have worked closely with local residents and stakeholders to understand what people do and what could happen at Willowbrook. A wide range of spaces are available and we look forward to seeing them in use.  

Public Practice visit Open Havelock as part of their research programme to see the build in progress. The associates attended the session at Havelock to share their experiences of work in the public sector across London and beyond and to hear about the background of the Open Havelock project.  

We are hosting workshops with local schools on site to explore the design and construction processes behind Open Havelock. In casting workshops with Havelock Primary and Bellevue School we will survey concrete on site – the existing columns and raked ground, pebbledash renders and our newly poured screed floor, and we will make plaster casts of our own in pastel shades. We take our inspiration from Bruno Munari’s Tactile Workshops. With Featherstone High, geography students will map the network of green spaces around our site. 

It has taken almost a year to finalise the design, to carefully budget and to work through tender and procurement processes, but the build has now begun. Rise Contracts were appointed to build Open Havelock and started on site in January. We are delighted to have such experienced and skillful contractors on board. 

Co design event on site with local residents and stakeholders. The Open Havelock steering group continued to meet online throughout the pandemic but we were delighted to be back on site in the summer for an in situ project review with more models, drawings, images, samples and (socially distanced) people. The site for the Open Havelock project, off Willowbrook Road, is complicated. It helps to be there in person to talk through the design. 

Canalside summer event with loose parts play by Westplay in the garden and undercrofts at Willowbrook North. Catalyst are hosting a summer event by the canal with a number of stakeholders engaged in the Open Havelock project, such as Deqa foods and Westplay. It is an opportunity to enter the garden at Willowbrook North and to test and enact its future use – play! 

Twilight Tea project review on site with local residents and stakeholders. An event to present and discuss the designs for Open Havelock with models, drawings, samples and tea. We will catch the late afternoon sun as it falls in the undercrofts and gather your thoughts on how the project should be taken forward.